Branded content

ABSTRACT

Configuration of an application module to utilize branded content is described. In an implementation, a method includes identifying one of a plurality of business relationships which correspond to a request sent by a client over a network. A configuration file is the formed for communication to the client and for configuration of an application module of the client to utilize branded content which corresponds to the identified business relationship.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention generally relates to branded content and moreparticularly relates to configuration of an application module toutilize branded content.

BACKGROUND

Application modules may be utilized to provide a variety offunctionality. For example, an application module may be configured as aweb browser to navigate to content over the Internet. In anotherexample, an application module may be configured as a web applicationthat provides the content over the Internet. For instance, theapplication module may be configured as a web application that retrievesand communicates web pages in response to requests received from the webbrowser.

In some instances, it may be desirable to configure the applicationmodule to correspond to a particular business entity. For example, abrowser may be configured to include branded content from a particularinternet service provider (ISP), such as a business logo of the ISP.Thus, a user of the browser may view a display of the branded content(e.g., the logo) when executing the browser. Typically, however,application modules were preconfigured (e.g., “hard coded”) to onlyinclude particular branded content. Therefore, the application modulecould only display the particular branded content which was “hard coded”into the application module, which prevented the application module frombeing reconfigured to include different branded content. The inabilityto reconfigure the application module limited the usefulness of themodule and may result in confusion on the part of users. For example, auser may receive an “old” application module which includes outdatedbranded content, such as a logo which is no longer utilized by thebusiness entity, a business entity that is no longer in existence, andso on.

Therefore, there is a continuing need for improved techniques forconfiguring application modules to utilize branded content.

SUMMARY

Configuration of an application module to utilize branded content isdescribed. In an implementation, a method includes identifying one of aplurality of business relationships which correspond to a request sentby a client over a network. A configuration file is formed forcommunication to the client and for configuration of an applicationmodule of the client to utilize branded content which corresponds to theidentified business relationship.

In another implementation, a method includes determining whether aversion of branded content stored locally on a client has an updatedversion, and if so, obtain the updated version. Each version of thebranded content corresponds to a business relationship involving theclient and is for configuration of an application module to utilizefunctionality which is selected based on the business relationship.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an environment in an exemplaryimplementation that is operable to employ application moduleconfiguration techniques.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of a system in an exemplary implementationshowing a branding system, a branded content provider, and a client ofFIG. 1 in greater detail.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram depicting a procedure in an exemplaryimplementation in which an application module is generated by anapplication provider and installed on a client to obtain brandedcontent.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram depicting a procedure in an exemplaryimplementation in which branded content is obtained by an applicationmodule for use in the execution of the application module.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram depicting a procedure in an exemplaryimplementation in which a branding system manages branded content toaddress changing business relationships.

The same reference numbers are utilized in instances in the discussionto reference like structures and components.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Overview

Configuration of an application module to utilize branded content isdescribed. Typical application modules were configured to displaybranded content (e.g., logos, text, and so on) for a particular businessentity. For example, a creator of the application module (e.g., abrowser) may modify the application module to display a logo of anInternet service provider. The modified application module was thendistributed, either by the creator or the business entity, for use by aclient, such as a person operating a desktop personal computer. However,a wide variety of these modified application modules may be distributedby a wide variety of different business entities. Therefore, a clientmay be associated with a particular business entity (e.g., the ISP) butobtain an application module that is configured for use with anotherbusiness entity, e.g., another ISP. This may result in the clientutilizing an application module which does not include the brandedcontent for the corresponding business entity, which as a consequencemay cause a reduction in the usefulness of the application module forthe client.

In an implementation, systems, methods, and apparatus are describedwhich may be utilized to configure an application module to obtainbranded content which corresponds to a particular client. For example,the client may obtain an application module (e.g., a browser) which isconfigured to obtain branded content for the particular client based ona business relationship which corresponds to the client, such as acontract entered into by the client to utilize a particular internetservice provider. Thus, the client may obtain the application modulefrom any distribution channel yet still obtain relevant branded content,which allows the branded content to “roam” with the client. In thefollowing discussion, an exemplary environment is first described whichis operable to employ the configuration techniques. Exemplary proceduresare then described which may be utilized in the exemplary environment,as well as in other environments.

Exemplary Environment

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an environment 100 in an exemplaryimplementation that is operable to employ techniques for configurationof application modules. The illustrated environment 100 includes aplurality of branded content providers 102(m) (where “m” can be anyinteger from one to “M”), a plurality of clients 104(n) (where “n” canbe any integer from one to “N”), a plurality of application providers106(p) (where “p” can be any integer from one to “P”), and a brandingsystem 108. The clients 104(n) may be configured in a variety of ways.For example, one or more of the clients 104(n) may be configured as acomputing device, such as a desktop computer, a mobile station, anentertainment appliance, a set-top box communicatively coupled to adisplay device, a wireless phone, a game console, and so forth. Thus,the clients 104(n) may range from full resource devices with substantialmemory and processor resources (e.g., personal computers, game consoles)to low-resource devices with limited memory and/or processing resources(e.g., traditional set-top boxes, hand-held game consoles). The clients104(n) may also relate to a person and/or entity that operate theclients. In other words, one or more of the clients 104(n) may describelogical clients that include users, software, and/or devices.

In the environment 100 of FIG. 1, the branded content providers 102(m),the clients 104(n), the application providers 106(p), and the brandingsystem 108 are communicatively coupled, one to another, over a network110. Although the network 110 is illustrated as the Internet, thenetwork may assume a wide variety of configurations. For example, thenetwork 110 may include a wide area network (WAN), a local area network(LAN), a wireless network, a public telephone network, an intranet, andso on. Further, although a single network is shown, the network 110 maybe configured to include multiple networks. For instance, the brandingsystem 108 and the branded content provider 102(m) may becommunicatively coupled, one to another, over an intranet while theclient 104(n) is communicatively coupled to the branding system 108 andthe branded content provider 102(m) over the Internet. A wide variety ofother instances are also contemplated.

The application provider 106(p) is illustrated as including a pluralityof application modules 112(q), where “q” can be any integer from one to“Q”, which is accessible via a database 114(p). The application modules112(q) may be configured in a variety of ways. For example, one or moreof the application modules 112(q) may be configured as an operatingsystem, a word processor, a spreadsheet application, a note-takingapplication, a presentation application, a drawing application, a game,a browser, an application that is executable to provide content (e.g.,web pages) over a network, and so on.

To manage the application modules 112(q), the application provider106(p) may include an application manager module 116(p). For example,the application manager module 116(p) may be executable to processrequests from the client 104(n) for a particular application module112(q), perform digital rights management (e.g., receive and processbilling information from the client 104(n)), communicate the requestedapplication module 112(n) over the network 110 for storage on the client104(n), and so on.

The branding system 108 includes a branding module 118 which isexecutable to manage a plurality of configuration files 120(r), where“r” can be any integer from one to “R”. The configuration files 120(r)are formed for communication to the client 104(n) such that the client104(n) may obtain relevant branded content for utilization by theapplication modules 112(n). The branding module 118, for instance, maydetermine whether the client 104(n) is associated with a particularbusiness entity. This determination may be performed in a variety ofways. For example, the branding system 108 may store a listing ofclient/business entity associations and retrieve a configuration file120(r) from a database 122 based on this listing.

In another example, the branding system 108 may communicate with anauthentication system 124 to determine whether the client 104(n) isassociated with a particular business entity. The authentication system124, for instance, may include a plurality of client accounts 126(s),where “s” can be any integer from one to “S”, which is stored in adatabase 128. The authentication system 124 also includes anauthentication module 130 which is executable to verify the identity ofthe client 104(n). For example, each client account 126(s) may have anassociated client identifier and password for verifying the authenticityof the client 104(n). The client account 126(s) may also describewhether the client 104(n) is associated with one or more businessentities. For instance, the client 104(n) may be “signed-up” with aparticular ISP, wireless service provider, user group, credit cardcompany, broadcast content provider (e.g., cable television provider),and so on. Thus, the branding system 108 may also determine associationsby the client 104(n) with business entities through communication withthe authentication system 124. The associations may also be determinedin a wide variety of other ways without departing form the spirit andscope thereof. The branding module 118 may then form a configurationfile 120(r) for communication to the client 104(n) which describes whereto obtain the relevant branded content, such as from the branded contentprovider 102(m).

The branded content provider 102(m) includes a plurality of brandedcontent 132(t), where “t” can be any integer from one to “T”, which isillustrated as stored in a database 134. The branded content 132(t) maybe configured in a variety of ways. For example, one or more of thebranded content 132(t) may be configured for output in a user interface,such as a business logo, a business name, an audio file containing acorporate “jingle”, and so on. The branded content 132(t) may also beconfigured to provide additional functionality to the application module112(n), such as a link to a home page of the business entity, a techsupport link to the business entity, and so on. A wide variety of otherconfigurations for the branded content 132(t) are also contemplated.

The branded content provider 102(m) also includes a content managermodule 136(m) which is executable to manage the branded content 132(t),such as to maintain different versions of the branded content, toreceive and process requests from the client 104(n) for the brandedcontent 132(t), to communicate the branded content 132(t) over thenetwork 110 in response to the request, and so on. Further discussion ofbranded content 132(t) management by the branded content provider 102(m)may be found in relation to FIG. 5.

Although the branded content provider 102(m), client 104(n), applicationprovider 106(p), branding system 108, and authentication system 124 areeach illustrated separately in the environment 100 of FIG. 1, one ormore of these components may be combined and/or further separated. Forexample, the branding system 108 may incorporate the functionality ofthe branded content provider 102(m), the application provider 106(p) andthe branding system 108 may be combined separately from the brandedcontent provider 102(m), and so on.

Generally, any of the functions described herein can be implementedusing software, firmware (e.g., fixed logic circuitry), manualprocessing, or a combination of these implementations. The terms“module,” “functionality,” and “logic” as used herein generallyrepresent software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware.In the case of a software implementation, the module, functionality, orlogic represents program code that performs specified tasks whenexecuted on a processor (e.g., CPU or CPUs). The program code can bestored in one or more computer readable memory devices, furtherdescription of which may be found in relation to FIG. 2. The features ofthe configuration techniques described below are platform-independent,meaning that the techniques may be implemented on a variety ofcommercial computing platforms having a variety of processors.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of a system 200 in an exemplary implementationshowing the client 104(n), the branding system 108, and the brandedcontent provider 102(m) of FIG. 1 in greater detail. The branded contentprovider 102(m), the branding system 108, and the client 104(n) are eachillustrated as being implemented by one or more respective computingdevices. Branded content provider 102(m), for instance, is illustratedas including a content server 202(m), branding system 108 is illustratedas including a branding server 204, and the client 104(n) is illustratedas a client device. The content server 202(m), branding server 204, andclient 104(n) each include a respective processor 206(m), 208, 210(n)and a respective memory 212(m), 214, 216(n).

Processors are not limited by the materials from which they are formedor the processing mechanisms employed therein. For example, processorsmay be comprised of semiconductor(s) and/or transistors (e.g.,electronic integrated circuits (ICs)). In such a context,processor-executable instructions may be electronically-executableinstructions. Alternatively, the mechanisms of or for processors, andthus of or for a computing device, may include, but are not limited to,quantum computing, optical computing, mechanical computing (e.g., usingnanotechnology), and so forth. Additionally, although a single memory212(m), 214, 216(n) is shown, respectively, for the content server202(m), branding server 204, and client 104(n), a wide variety of typesand combinations of memory may be employed, such as random access memory(RAM), hard disk memory, removable medium memory, and so forth.

The client 104(n) is illustrated as executing the application module112(n) on the processor 210(n), which is also storable in memory 216(n).The application module 112 includes an installer module 218(n) which isexecutable to form a request for communication over the network 110 toobtain branded content. The installer module 218(n) is executable in awide variety of instances. For example, the installer module 218(n) maybe executed upon installation of the application module 112(n) on theclient 104(n) to obtain branded content. Additionally, the installermodule 218(n) may be executed periodically to update branded contentwhich is available locally at the client 104(n), further discussion ofwhich may be found in relation to FIG. 4.

The branding module 118 is illustrated as being executed on theprocessor 208 of the branding server 204, and is also storable inmemory. As previously described, the branding module 118 is executableto provide one or more of a plurality of configuration files 120(r) tothe client 104(n) for configuration of the application module 112(n).Configuration file 120(r), for instance, may include a brand associationID 220 and a brand URL 222. The brand association ID 220 is configuredto identify a particular business association of the client 104(n), suchas a particular contractual arrangement between the client 104(n) and aparticular service provider. The brand URL 222 is a network address ofwhere to locate the branded content which corresponds to the brandassociation ID 220, such as a network address of the branded contentprovider 102(m). Thus, the branding system 108 may act as a centralizedlocation for branding information through specification of where toobtain the branded content over the network 110.

The content server 202(m) is illustrated as executing the contentmanager module 136(m) on the processor 206(m), which is also storable inmemory 212(m). The content manager module 136(m) is executable to managethe plurality of branded content 118(n) which is depicted as stored inthe memory 212(m). The plurality of branded content may be configured ina variety of ways. For example, the branded content 132(t) may include avariety of branded content which is configured for output in a userinterface of an application module 112(n), such as a brand logo 224(e.g., a logo of a business entity), brand graphics 226 (e.g., a brandbanner, “splash screen”, and so on), brand text (e.g., a trademarkedphrase of the business entity), and so on. The branded content 132(t)may also add functionality to the application module 112(n), such as alink 230 (e.g., to the service provider's home page, transaction page,customer support page, “tech” support page, and so forth), applicationconfiguration data 232 (e.g., features that are or are not installedbased on a business relationship), specify a version 234 of the brandedcontent 132(t) (further discussion of which may be found in relation toFIG. 4), and other 236 branded content.

The installer module 218(n) is further executable by the client 104(n)to configure the application module 112(n) based on the branded content132(x), where “x” can be any integer from one to “X”. For example, theinstaller module 218(n) may configure the application to “look” toparticular items of branded content 132(x), such as for output in a userinterface 238(n) of the application module 112(n), and so on. It shouldbe noted that the branded content 132(x) is illustrated as separate fromthe application module 112(n) to depict that utilization of the brandedcontent 132(x) by the application module 112(n) is “flexible”, in thatthe branded content 132(x) may be added to, deleted, or changed withoutsignificantly altering the application module 112(n). Thus, theapplication module 112(n) may act as a generic platform which may obtainutilize a variety of different branded content. Further discussion ofbranded content flexibility may be found in relation to FIG. 4.

Exemplary Procedures

The following discussion describes configuration techniques that may beimplemented utilizing the previously described systems and devices.Aspects of each of the procedures may be implemented in hardware,firmware, or software, or a combination thereof. The procedures areshown as a set of blocks that specify operations performed by one ormore devices and are not necessarily limited to the orders shown forperforming the operations by the respective blocks. In portions of thefollowing discussion, reference will be made to the environment 100 ofFIG. 1 and the system 200 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram depicting a procedure 300 in an exemplaryimplementation in which an application module is generated by anapplication provider and installed on a client to obtain brandedcontent. First, an application provider 106(p) generates an applicationmodule 112(n) that is configured to utilized branded content (block302). For example, the application module 112(n) may be configured toincorporate a business logo and a business name of a business entity ina user interface. The application module 112(n) may also be configuredto include reconfigurable links, such as a link that may be configuredto point to a home page of the business entity. In this exemplaryimplementation, however, the application module does not include brandedcontent for each part of the application module that is configurable toinclude branded text. For example, the application module may beconfigured to utilize “generic” content which is not particular to anybusiness entity.

The application module 112(n) is then communicated to the client 104(n)(block 304), which may be performed in a variety of ways. For instance,the application module 112(n) may be written to a computer-readablemedium (e.g., a CD-ROM) for physical distribution to the client 104(n).In another instance, the application module 112(n) is communicated fromthe application provider 106(p) to the client 104(n) over the network110.

The client 104(n) then initiates an installation process for theapplication module 112(n) (block 306). For example, execution of theinstaller module 218(n) on the client 104(n) may begin. During theinstallation process, a request is formed for communication to thebranding system 108 (block 308) to obtain branded content. Upon receiptof the request, the branding system 108 communicates with theauthentication system 124 to authenticate the client 104(n) (block 308).For example, the branding system 108 may communicate a user ID and apassword from the client 104(n) to authenticate the identity of theclient. When the client's identity is confirmed, the branding system 108may further communicate with the authentication system 124 to find oneor more brands which are associated with the client.

Based on the authentication, the branding system 108 locatesconfiguration data which references branded content that corresponds tothe client 104(n) (block 312). For example, the branding system maylocate network addresses of particular branded content 132(t) and abrand association ID of the branded content. The branding system 108 maythen form a configuration file which includes references to the brandedcontent and the brand association ID (block 314). The client 104(n) maythen receive the configuration file (block 316) and obtain the brandedcontent based on the configuration file (block 318), an example of whichis described in relation to the following figure.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram depicting a procedure 400 in an exemplaryimplementation in which branded content is obtained by an applicationmodule for use in the execution of the application module. The installermodule 218(n) determines which version of branding content is availablelocally on the client 104(n). For example, the installer module 218(n)may be executed to install the application module 112(n) on the client104(n) from a computer-readable medium, such as a CD-ROM. The CD-ROM mayinclude a version of branded content and have a version identifier whichidentifies which version is available, such as by date, version number(e.g. “1.0”), and so on.

The installer module then compares the version of the locally storedbranding content with a version of branding content referenced in theconfiguration file (block 404). For example, the configuration filereceived by the client in FIG. 3 (i.e., block 316), may include aversion number for the branded content which is available via thenetwork 110. The installer module 218(n) may compare the version numbersto determine if the branded content which is available over the network110 is an updated (i.e., “more recent”) version of the content that isavailable from the CD-ROM. Therefore, for each version of brandingcontent that has an updated version, the installer module 218(n) isexecuted to obtain the updated version (block 406). The obtained updatedversion of the branding content is stored (block 408) locally on theclient 104(n). Thus, the application module 112(n) may retrieve brandedcontent during the installation process thereof.

Execution of the installer module 218(n) is not limited to theinstallation process of the application module 112(n). For example, theinstaller module 218(n) may be executed to periodically request anotherconfiguration file from the branding system 108 (block 410) and obtainthe configuration file (block 412). The installer module 218(n) mayagain determine which version of branded content is available locally(block 402), compare the version with the version which is available asdescribed in the configuration file (block 404), and obtain an updatedversion for each branded content having an updated version (block 406).In this way, the branded content that is available locally on the client104(n) is kept “up-to-date” and may continually reflect changingbusiness associations of the client 104(n), further discussion of whichmay be found in relation to FIG. 5.

It should be noted that in the procedure 400 described in the exemplaryimplementation of FIG. 4, the configuration file which was communicated“referenced” branded content and did not actually include the brandedcontent. Therefore, the installer module 218(n) could obtain the updatedbranded content without obtaining branded content which was alreadylocated on the client. Thus, the configuration file may be configured toconserve hardware and software resources of the client 104(n), brandingsystem 108, and branded content provider 102(m), as well as conservenetwork 110 resources.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram depicting a procedure 500 in an exemplaryimplementation in which a branding system manages branded content toaddress changing business relationships. The branding system managesbranded content according to one or more business relationships (block502). The business relationships may relate to a wide variety ofcombinations of business entities. For example, the application provider106(p) and the branded content provider 102(m) may have a businessrelationship in which the application provider agrees to allow brandedcontent of the branded content provider to be utilized by theapplication module 112(q). In another example, the client 104(n) mayhave a business relationship with the branded content provider 102(m)for goods or services, such as for internet access, wireless telephoneaccess, broadcast content subscription (e.g., television), musicsubscription (e.g., radio, downloadable songs), and so on. In addition,the client 104(n) may have a business relationship with the applicationprovider 106(p). For example, the client 104(n) may purchase theapplication module 112(q), may agree to view branded content for “freeuse” of the application module 112(q), and so on. Thus, the client104(n) may have a plurality of business relationships. Each of thesebusiness relationships may be addressed by the branding system byselecting which branded content is referenced in the configuration file.

A client requests branded content from the branding system (block 504).In response to the request, the branding system determines that aplurality of business relationships correspond to the client (block506). For example, the client may enter into a contractual agreementwith a wireless network provider (e.g., for voice and data access), be amember of a car club, and so on. The branding system may then select oneof the corresponding business relationships (block 508). Continuing withthe previous example, the branding system may determine that thecontractual agreement with the wireless network provider is to be givenpriority. This priority may be determined in a variety of ways, such asbased on a preconfigured list in which each business relationship isarranged in a hierarchy, computed based on the application module, forwhich, the branded content is to be utilized to compute a “score” foreach business relationship, and so on. The branding system may thenreference branded content which corresponds to the business relationshipwhich is relevant to the client (block 510).

At a later point in time, a change in the business relationship occurs(block 512). For example, the agreement the application provider madewith the branded content provider 102(m) may have lapsed. In anotherexample, the client may have entered into an agreement with a differentone of the plurality of content providers 102(m). In a further example,the business relationship between the client and the applicationprovider 106(p) may have changed. Accordingly, the branding systemmanages the branded content accordingly to the changed businessrelationship (block 514).

The client, for instance, may again request branded content from thebranding system (block 516). It should be noted that in this example,the request may be made for the branded content itself and/or aconfiguration file which references the branded content. In response tothe request, the branding system selects another corresponding businessrelationship as a result of the change (block 518) and referencesbranded content which corresponds to the other business relationship(block 520). Continuing with the previous example, the client had abusiness relationship with a wireless provider and a car club. However,the agreement between the wireless provider and the application provider106(p) may have lapsed. Therefore, the branding system 108 will nolonger reference branded content which corresponds to the wirelessservice provider, but rather will reference branded content whichcorresponds to the car club. The reference to the branded content may beutilized as previously described to update branded content utilized bythe application module. Thus, the branded content utilized by theapplication module may be kept “up-to-date” through use of the brandingsystem.

CONCLUSION

Although the invention has been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat the invention defined in the appended claims is not necessarilylimited to the specific features or acts described. Rather, the specificfeatures and acts are disclosed as exemplary forms of implementing theclaimed invention.

1. A method comprising: identifying, by a branding system, a particularbusiness relationship of a plurality of business relationshipsassociated with a client, wherein the particular business relationshipis between a particular business entity and the client and correspondsto a request sent by the client over a network; forming, by the brandingsystem, a configuration file that includes branded content for:communication to the client; storage of a plurality of configurationparameters of a client application module; and configuration of theclient application module to utilize the branded content whichcorresponds to the particular business relationship and to utilizeadditional branded content which corresponds to an additional businessrelationship between an additional business entity and the client;sending the configuration file from the branding system to the client;determining, by the branding system, that the particular businessrelationship between the particular business entity and the client hasended; in response to the determining, deleting, by the branding system,branded content associated with the particular business entity andgenerating an additional configuration file; and sending the additionalconfiguration file from the branding system to the client.
 2. A methodas described in claim 1, wherein the particular business relationshipinvolves the client and an application provider which generated theclient application module.
 3. A method as described in claim 1, whereinthe particular business relationship involves the client and a brandedcontent provider which is configured to provide the branded content. 4.A method as described in claim 1, wherein the configuration fileincludes a reference indicating where to locate the branded content overa network.
 5. A method as described in claim 1, wherein one or morebusiness relationships are arranged such that at least one businessrelationship is given priority over another business relationship.
 6. Amethod as described in claim 1, wherein the client application module isconfigured as software which is selected from the group consisting of:an operating system; a browser; a game; a word processor; a note-takingapplication; an email application; a presentation application; a drawingapplication; an application that is executable to provide content over anetwork; a scheduling application; and a spreadsheet application.
 7. Amethod as described in claim 1, wherein the branded content is selectedfrom the group consisting of: a link to a web page of a business entity,with which, the client has the particular business relationship; a logoof the business entity; brand text; and application configuration data.8. A method as described in claim 1, further comprising determiningwhether a version of the branded content stored locally on the clienthas an updated version as referenced by the configuration file, and ifso, obtaining the updated version.
 9. A method as described in claim 1,further comprising: receiving the client application module which isconfigured to output generic content when the branded content is notavailable; and initiating an installation process to install the clientapplication module on the client, wherein the installation processincludes the identifying and the configuring.
 10. A method comprising:receiving a configuration file referencing branded content; determiningwhether a version of the branded content stored locally on a client hasan updated version by comparing the version of the branded contentstored locally on the client with a version of the branded content thatis referenced in the configuration file, and if so, modifying the localbranded content with the updated version, the determining beingperformed during installation of an application module on the client,wherein both the version of the branded content stored locally on theclient and the version of the branded content that is referenced in theconfiguration file: corresponds to a business relationship involving theclient and a business entity; and is for configuration of theapplication module to include functionality which is selected based onthe business relationship; sending a request for the branded content toa branding system; and receiving additional branded content for a newbusiness relationship involving the client in response to the request,the new business relationship involving the client and an additionalbusiness entity.
 11. A method as described in claim 10, wherein thebusiness relationship, the new business relationship, or both involve:the client and an application provider which generated the applicationmodule; or the client and a branded content provider which is configuredto provide the branded content, the additional branded content, or both.12. A method as described in claim 10, wherein one or more businessrelationships are arranged such that at least one business relationshipis given priority over another business relationship.
 13. A method asdescribed in claim 10, wherein the determining is further performedafter installation of the application module on the client has beencompleted.
 14. A method comprising during an installation process of anapplication module on a client: forming a request for communication to abranding system; receiving a configuration file in response to therequest which includes at least one uniform resource locator (URL) forlocating branded content which corresponds to a new businessrelationship which involves the client and a business entity, thebranded content containing configuration parameters; obtaining thebranded content referenced by the URL; by comparing pre-existing brandedcontent stored in memory of the client with the obtained brandedcontent, determining that the obtained branded content includes anadditional business entity, or updated branded information associatedwith one or more pre-existing business entities, the pre-existingbranded content being associated with one or more pre-existing businessrelationships involving the client and the one or more pre-existingbusiness entities; adding the obtained branded content to thepre-existing branded content; and modifying the application module onthe client based on the configuration parameters of the obtained brandedcontent.
 15. A method as described in claim 14, wherein the new businessrelationship involves: the client and an application provider whichgenerated the application module; or the client and a branded contentprovider which is configured to provide the branded content.
 16. Amethod as described in claim 14, further comprising selecting the newbusiness relationship which involves the client instead of anotherbusiness relationship which involves the client based on a prioritygiven to each business relationship.
 17. A method as described in claim14, wherein the configuration file includes a brand associationidentifier (ID) for communication to a branded content provider which isaccessible via the URL.
 18. A method comprising: receiving, via anetwork, a communication from a client computing device wherein thecommunication relates to an application, installed on the clientcomputing device, configured to access Internet information and whereinthe communication comprises brand information; identifying contractualinformation associated with a service provider and associated with theapplication installed on the client computing device based on the brandinformation of the communication and based on a priority of the serviceprovider with respect to preconfigured priorities of a plurality ofadditional business relationships associated with the client computingdevice; based on the contractual information, locating stored brandinformation; determining whether the brand information of the receivedcommunication corresponds to the located, stored brand information; andif the brand information of the received communication does notcorrespond to the located, stored brand information, transmitting brandresources to the client computing device to allow for branding a userinterface of the application according to the located, stored brandinformation, wherein branding a user interface comprises: configuringthe application installed on the client computing device to includefunctionality which is selected based on the contractual information.19. The method of claim 18 further comprising, periodically receiving,via the network, communications wherein each of the communicationsrelates to the application and wherein each of the communicationscomprises the brand information.
 20. The method of claim 1, wherein thebranded content determines appearance and functionality of the clientapplication module based on the particular business relationship. 21.The method of claim 10, wherein the branded content, the additionalbranded content, or both determine appearance and functionality of theapplication module based on the business relationship involving theclient, the new business relationship involving the client, or both. 22.The method of claim 14, wherein the branded content determinesappearance and functionality of the client application module based onthe new business relationship involving the client.